Cinema Canada (May 1980)

Taking Chances p.c. Mobius Productions p./research Marilyn A. Belec d. Robert Lang sc. scenes Robert Lang, David Mcllwraith set design Christophe Bonniere d. ph. Victor Sarin light. Ian Challis still ph. Douglas Webb sd. Steve Joles re-rec. Joe Grimaldi mus. Andrew Thompson ed. Stephen Best I.p. Kathryn Aitken, Leigh Sarty, John Lougheed, Anne Marie-Stephenson, Shirley Wheatley col. 16 mm length 22 min. year 1979 dist. Marilyn A. Belec Taking Chances is a_ twenty-two minute docu-drama dealing with teenage sex and pregnancy. The film is divided between the enactments of various situations which occur in the relationship of two teenagers, Leigh and Kathy, and scenes from a discussion group in which several other young people offer their views on the issue. Leigh and Kathy try to cope with the emotional and practical conflicts and commitments that are part and parcel of bringing sex into a serious relationship. Kathy confides in a friend her worry about pregnancy and her inability to communicate this sense of urgency to Leigh. Leigh tries to convince Kathy that there is nothing to worry about. Kathy and her friend go to a clinic for advice on the different methods of contraception. Leigh and his friend go to the drug store to buy condoms, but lose their nerve and leave with a bag of potatoe chips instead. Kathy gives Leigh an ultimatum. Leigh forces himself to become more responsible, more communicative — and ultimately, more loving. It sounds a little like As the World Turns, but still, the film clearly emphasizes the points that are most crucial. The comments from the discussion group range from one girl’s declaration that she does not want anything “unnatural inside me” when she has sex, to one boy's realization that “It's a pleasure, but it’s also an added responsibility.” Interestingly. Leigh is depicted as the irresponsible one in the enactment, but in the rap session it is the boys who come across as the more articulate and mature. Still, it would have been a major step if the film had provided a few clues — apart from the obvious one, that it is not their bodies which have to deal with the consequences of carelessness — as to why boys are traditionally considered the irresponsible ones. Taking Chances does not provide answers on a psychological level, but it does provoke questions. To anyone with an open mind the film makes the issue AAORT FILM REVIEWS Sex is the subject of this serious téte-a-téte between Ann Marie Stephenson and Kathryn Aitken in Taking Chances. accessible. The screening at the Science Centre was attended by the producer, Marilyn Belec, and a panel of professionals in the field of behaviour. Afterwards, there was a powerful catalyst for dialogue, on a topic that needs to generate as much talk and understanding as possible. The perspectives and opinions offered ran the gamut. Concerning the film’s> content the two most telling comments were about values. An eleven-year-old asked plaintively, “Can anybody here tell me what I should do with my life?” There were wry chuckles all over the auditorium, but a concerned mother was soon up and talking about the need fora strong moral structure in every adolescent'’s life. The young people in the film are depicted as existing in a social vacuum, exploring in the dark, piecing together their world as they go along. The only allusion to family or parents is one of fear: “My parents would kill me if they found out.” The only adult presented in the film is the counsellor at the birth control centre. But her advice, as it should be, is practical. and not weighted down by tones of judgement, or a specific moral outlook. Parents screening the film will probably be left confused or dismayed by the large generation gap, and the chaotic whirl of messages and directions that lie between. Young people requiring definite precepts of what is right and wrong won't find answers either. In this regard, Taking Chances does just that — by leaving adolescents on their own to figure out their own values in a modern world. This may, in fact, be a realistic stance, considering that teenagers demand time and space to work things out by themselves anyway. In sum, the film is optimistic and topical enough to remain relevant for a long time. John Brooke Letter to Vietnam p./d./sc. Eugene Buia m. Joan Baez (Heaven Help Us All) sd./ed. Joe Solway Ip. Garry Sun Hoan col. 16mm running time 47 min. Eugene Buia’s Letter to Vietnam is precisely what its title implies. The film is an open letter — albeit using the medium of film. instead of paper and an envelope — from nine-year-old Garry Sun Hoan, a refugee from Vietnam now living in Canada. to his parents who are still in Vietnam. The young letter-writer, a Chinese national, fled Vietnam two years ago in a small fishing boat. He subsequently found himself on a Hong Kong-based Cinema Canada/37